I started using a lodge cast iron pan about a year ago. I purchased the pan probably five years ago, but it didn’t see much use. I decided to try to move away from cooking with non-stick skillets and it took a while to get comfortable, but now I use it routinely. I have some questions about care.
The photo shows where the finish looks like it is missing. I’m guessing it is the oil coating that should build up, but I would like a second opinion. What should I do about it? Just start seasoning it until it all looks good?
I bake eggs in my oven (on a cookie sheet in ramekins) nearly every morning for family breakfast. I’m thinking I could just integrate seasoning into that existing ritual. My tentative plan is to apply a thin coat of oil to the cast iron pan and put it in the oven while it preheats to 375 (about 15 minutes), the eggs cook (another 15 minutes) and then turn off the oven and let the pan sit in the oven while it cools down. Will that be enough heat to get the oil to do what I want? I’m trying to not waste a lot of electricity and have something I can do basically every day until I am happy with the seasoning on the pan. Can I just use the cheap canola oil I already have?
I would love any feedback or thoughts.
Looks like you lost some of your seasoning in certain spots. At this point nothing you do is going to even out your bald spots. You're going to have to strip the seasoning and then reseason your pan.
I'm guessing the original seasoning is prob from the factory? I've never had luck with getting the factory seasoning to stick very long and will usually strip it to do my own if possible.
I would just leave the pan in the oven and set the oven to your ovens self clean cycle. It should get hot enough to bake off any residue or seasoning. Then you can build it back up from scratch using canola oil. 375 is too low a temp for canola, you want it just over the smoke temp which is around 425 for canola. 450 would be a better temp for polymerization.
I didn’t know how to reseason, but running it through the self clean seems like a pretty easy method! Thanks.
It's by far the easiest method, everything else is a bunch of scrubbing no matter what they try to tell you. Polymerized oils are pretty tough stuff.